Stories

Simple pleasures

December 8, 2017

What do we do when we have some down time? Chances are, we look at a screen. An old fashioned TV screen for those of us who were born in the 20th century, or more likely a laptop, a tablet or a phone. You might want to read this post by the awesome Semi-Rad about our addiction to our phones. Once again, the dude nails it.

But it’s not always been like that.

When I was a kid, I used to spend the Christmas holidays with my cousins in a chalet with no TV and no phone line. This was way before mobile phones took over our lives. We would spend our days skiing in the backcountry and our evenings playing board and card games. I first learnt about capitalism by playing Monopoly when I was 10.

This is where I spent countless holidays during the pre-smartphone age

So when Gaspare from Passtricot contacted me to get photos of Swiss passes for a card game called Passquartett, it felt great for three reasons.

Firstly, it brought me back to the happy times of my childhood. Passquartett is a way to experience the simple pleasure of playing games with friends. Instead of counting how many likes our latest Instagram shot is getting or checking another cat video.

Secondly, I felt that the value of my photography was recognised. For once someone was not stealing my pictures or promising ‘exposure’ to use my work for free – work in which I had invested my time, my money and my skills. The guy was serious, fair and honest. It was a true pleasure working with him.

Finally, it gave me an opportunity to share my passion for the Swiss Alps. The game features most of the best cycling climbs in Switzerland I have written about for Grand Tours Project, plus some others. I’m happy to have provided images for the Grosse Scheidegg, the Gurnigel, the Col des Mosses, the Col du Pillon, the Col de la Croix, the Croix de Coeur and Moosalp. Most of the other pictures have been shot by Berthold Steinhilber.